This picture says it all. For now. I’ve been a little quiet the last couple weeks, and this is why. Greg Shuff, the young entrepreneur and beer geek behind Dry Hop Brewers, hired me to document the story of Lakeview’s soon-to-be new brewpub (just north of Intelligensia on Broadway).

It’s been an epic few days of shooting, including a day at Haymarket where Brant Dubovick (formerly of Church’s in Pittsburgh) collaborated with Pete Crowley on a hefty summer beer using chamomile, grains of paradise and plenty of orange zest. That same night, the Dry Hop guys hosted a sensory class for Chicago’s standout third wave brewers, including Begyle, Spiteful, and many more.

Day two of shooting took us to the farmer’s market in Evanston where I joined Greg and Dry Hop’s chef, Pete Repak (Charlie Trotter’s, Four Seasons and Fox & Obel) as he gathered an incredible array of local produce for a backyard BBQ. The resulting spread was something out of a Gourmet Magazine wet dream. While the brewpub plans to serve well-crafted small plates, these won’t be the “tapas” that drain your wallet and neglect your stomach — these plates will be full of robust flavors and gastro-pub ingredients from Pete’s kitchen. This might have been the greatest backyard BBQ in Chicago history.

And finally, shoot three, we visited Greg’s office, the Lakeview space where they plan to break ground in September, and the designer’s studio where branding work (posters, growlers and more) are all underway as Greg and the team prepare to launch Lakeview’s first brewpub.

There will be plenty more to learn about these guys in the coming months, but one thing I know in the meantime — these guys might be playing the waiting game as they acquire permits and plan the build out, but they’re certainly not wasting their time. In fact, you’ll be seeing a number of collaboration brews popping up in Chicago in the next couple months. The American Biere de Garde made at Haymarket will be served at an upcoming festival or two, as well as at Fountainhead alongside a Lunar Brewing collab with free pint glasses to mark the occasion.

So come get an early taste of the future of Lakeview and meet the guys at Fountainhead on August 6th. You can’t miss Greg — he’s about 12 feet tall.